Thill-coupling



(N0 Model.)

T- HENRY.

. THILL COUPLING.

' No. 245,298. Patented Aug. 9,1881.

N PETERS. Pholn-Lilhcgmphen Wulvinghm n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS HENRY, OF ROOKPORT, OHIO.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 245,298, dated August9, 1881.

Application filed January 5, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS HENRY, of Rockport, in the county ofOuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Thill-Oouplings, of which the following is aspecification.

These improvements relate to thill-couplings for carriages, wagons, andlike vehicles; and it consists of the attachment of a steel spring tothe coupling in such a manner that the rattling ot' the coupling iseffectually prevented, and also in providing a means of holding thethills in an upright position when the shafts are turned up for thepurpose of raising them out ot'the way when the carriage is not in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section ofathill-coupling having my improvement attached. Fig. 2 is a detached viewof my spring attachment.

A represents the clip of a thill-conpling. B is the tie-bar; and O isthe eye-piece or thilliron, coupled to the clip by a bolt, D. This is ofthe ordinary construction.

My improvement consists more especially in supplying to thethill-coupling a device for preventing its rattling in case of wear, andwhich will also serve to hold the thills in an upright position whenturned up, as hereinafter described and claimed. To do this I take apiece of flat spring-steel, E, and bend it in the form shown in Fig. 2.The forward end is formed so as to fit against the rear side of theeyepiece O, between the cars a of the clip A. I also make two crooks orbends, e andf, in the said spring E, below the ears a. The bend or crookf, when the said spring is in its place, bears against the end of thetie-bar B.

(No model.)

The rear end of the spring is secured to the clip A by means of a smallclip, G, which claspsthe back end of the tie-bar and the end of thespring E, the lower end of the clip G having a hole, which catches on alug, g, made near the end of the spring E.

The thill-iron or eye-piece G has two grooves or depressions, c 0, madein its upper side, into one of which the end of the spring rests. Thestrength of the spring is sufficient to hold the thills in an uprightposition when they are turned up in the position seen in dotted lines,Fig. 1.

The manner of applying this device is very simple, as will be seen fromthe drawings, no change or removal of the coupling being necessary. Toattach the spring, place the front or curved end in place behind theeyepiece, with the hendfresting against the end of the tie-bar; thenpress up the rear end in place, and secure it by slipping on the clip G,the tension of the spring serving to prevent rattling or falling of thethills.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The spring E, having thebends or crooks e and f, in combination with the tie-bar B, andthilliron O, provided with the grooves c c, as and for the purposespecified.

2. The clip G, in combination with the spring E, having the lug g andbends e f, and with the tie-bar B of the clip A, substantially as andfor the purpose specified.

THOMAS HENRY.

Witnesses:

G. D. OGONNOR, GEo. W. TIBBITTS.

